ThermalTake Volcano 5, Volcano 6cu, Volcano 6cu+ Shootout!

Category: CPU CoolingReviewed by: Admin Reviewed on: August 31, 2001: Thermaltake: ThermalTakeIntroduction
Today, we have a heatsink shootout between the: Volcano 5, Volcano 6cu, and the Volcano 6cu+. All three of these heatsinks at first glance look identical. However, they all of something different about each of them. Like the Volcano 5 which has an all aluminum base, versus the Volcano 6cu and 6cu+ which have a part copper base. Each of these heatsinks can handle: AMD ATHLON 1.5GHz+ and INTEL PIII 1.13GHz & TUALATIN up to 2.0GHz and they are also all AMD Recommended.

Specs

Volcano 5

Pin Number

A1110

Fan Dimension

60x60x25 mm

Rated Voltage

12VDC

Started Voltage

7VDC

Power Input

2.04W

FAN Speed

4550±10% RPM

Air Flow

32 CFM

Noise

31dBA

Current

0.17AMP

Interface Material

Bergquist 225U

Heatsink Dimensions

80x60x65 mm

Heatsink Base

Aluminum

Bearing System

Ball Bearing

Life Time

50,000 hours

Connector

3 PIN

Volcano 6cu

Pin Number

A1139

Fan Dimension

60x60x25 mm

Rated Voltage

12VDC

Started Voltage

7VDC

Power Input

2.04W

FAN Speed

4550±10% RPM

Air Flow

32 CFM

Noise

31dBA

Current

0.17AMP

Interface Material

Bergquist 225U

Heatsink Dimensions

80x60x65 mm

Heatsink Base

Copper

Bearing System

Ball Bearing

Life Time

50,000 hours

Connector

3 PIN

Basically, the major differences between the Volcano 6U and Volcano 6u+ is that the 6u+ comes with a highend fan, which is a 7000rpm fan which puts out 6CFM more air than the 6u and it is also louder than the 6u (8dBA louder). The major differences between the Volcano 5 and the Volcano 6U is that the Volcano 6U has a copper base, and the Volcano 5 does not. All three of the heatsinks come with the Bergquist 225U TIM, which is good stuff. However, I use NanoTherm thermal compound instead of the Bergquist 225U TIM, because I'm a crazy overclocker and I need all the extra cooling I can get :)

Installation
There were no included instructions to install any of the heatsinks. However, I have never had any heatsink installation go any smoother than it did. With the ThermalTakes patented clip design, I installed the heatsinks with no problems at all. The easier and fastest way to install the heatsink is to use a flathead screwdriver as shown in the picture.

Just simply push down, then out and back in and it should clip down with ease. I had to use an extra short flathead screwdriver, because my power supply was in the way, and a long screwdriver wouldn't fit between the power supply and the heatsink. It took me less than 5secs to install, literally. Uninstalling it took around 10secs :) However, if you have a slide-out motherboard tray, as I have, it would be much easier to install.

Testing
Test Rig:

1.2Ghz T-bird

Kt7 motherboard

512MB Pc133

Win2k

The test system we used was: KT7 motherboard, 1.2Ghz T-bird (not overclocked), (2) Maxtor 40Gb 7200rpm hard drives, Geforce2 MMX video card, and 512MB PC-133. To get the idle temps, I booted in to Windows 2000 and let the system idle for 30mins, with no extra programs running in background. Then, to get the full load results, I ran Seti@home, winamp, and Prime95 all at one time. When I changed out the heatsinks, I allowed the computer to cool for 45mins before turning the computer back on and testing again

Conclusion
ThermalTake has three great new heatsinks here. I'm also glad to see that they are getting away from the ORB product line. I especially liked the performance of the Volcano 6cu+, it's an exceptional heatsink. I can't think of anything I didn't like about these heatsinks.. I would of liked to seen a fan guard on the Volcano 6cu+ model though. Other then that, I liked everything about them. I'm going to be giving away these heatsinks! So head on over to our Contest page and check out all the details. Also, surf on over to ThermalTake.com and pick one of these heatsinks up!